Southwestern College turmoil at heart of board races

CHULA VISTA  Virtually all of the turmoil that has roiled Southwestern College for the past several years is being revisited in the campaign for three seats on the college’s governing board.

Challengers accuse the current board of responsibility for myriad problems, foremost among them the threat to the school’s accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which has put the campus on probation.

For their part, the three incumbents seeking re-election insist the challengers ignore the progress the board has made in addressing long-standing problems.

Challengers criticize the incumbents for accepting contributions from contractors who have done business with the district. Incumbents contend union financial support of three challengers should trouble voters.

The candidates:

• Seat 2

Incumbent Terri Valladolid, 63, a Bonita resident employed as a labor relations advocate at the University of California San Diego is seeking her fourth term. She said improvements have been made and that the president of the accreditation committee said the school is moving in the right direction. She said some board decisions have not sat well with the unions, who she contends have exaggerated the problems.

Challenger Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez, 39, is the founder and CEO of San Diego Learning Center, a for-profit educational institution, and chairwoman of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The Chula Vista resident said the accreditation concern motivated her to run. She criticized Valladolid for failing to appear at some candidate forums. She is one of the three challengers who has been endorsed by the teachers union.

• Seat 4

Incumbent Yolanda Salcido, 53, a Chula Vista resident, manages rheumatology clinics for a nonprofit agency that serves low-income and uninsured people. At a recent forum, Salcido, who seeking a third term, and the board were criticized for not dipping into reserves to save part-time faculty members’ hours. Salcido said reserves should not be used for salaries, but for technology, disability services and basic skills programs, and that the board is wise to have kept the reserves.

Salcido, who is president of the board, said she is working hard to address the accreditation issue and takes responsibility for it. But, she said, her opponent also shares responsibility.

Norma Hernandez, 71, is that opponent. She lives in Bonita and worked for the district for 31 years, including serving as superintendent/president of the one-college district from 2003 to 2006. The former administrator is supported by the union.

Though the Western Association of Schools and Colleges did cite a list of problems and give the college a warning in 2003, Hernandez said she addressed them. She said by the time she retired, the board had returned to micromanaging, contributing to the current problems.

•Seat 5:

Incumbent Jorge Dominguez, 62, is a Chula Vista resident and director of educational technology for the Sweetwater Union High School District. He is seeking a second four-year term after losing a June primary bid for mayor of Chula Vista. Though not running against Hernandez, he contends many of the district’s problems stem from her tenure. Like the other incumbents, he says progress has been made to address the probation and accreditation issues. He says Southwestern is financially stable and has avoided layoffs and pay and benefit cuts to full-time faculty. He cites his experience as an educator of 35 years.

Tim Nader, a former Chula Vista mayor, is one of three candidates challenging Dominguez. He works in the civil division of the San Diego branch of the Attorney General’s office and has the union endorsement. He says Southwestern is in crisis, noting that the Academic Senate cast a no-confidence vote in the president and contends that there is an atmosphere of hostility and retaliation on campus. He criticized the incumbents for approving an 8 percent raise for the president/superintendent while cutting 200 adjunct faculty.

Jamie Mercardo, 66, a retired Sweetwater Union High School District principal from Bonita, offered himself as an alternative to the incumbents and the candidates with labor backing.

He says his education experience will give him a jump start on the board and that he could bridge divisions on the board. He has been active in the Chula Vista Taxpayers Association.

William “Bud” McLeroy, ﻿50, of Otay Mesa, is a federal firefighter and an educator in the Army Reserve who also offered himself as an alternative to the two warring sides. He says he has no allegiance to any group.